A Jinx on Port Charles
by Damonlover88
Summary: Jinxie Ward met the Spencers in 1994 and became part of their family after her Great grandmother Mary Mae passed. But 9 years ago she disappeared and no one knows to where. Now she's back and Lucky Spencer will have to face his feelings and her past.
1. Chapter 1

A/N I own nothing but my character Jinaya. This is my first fic so bear with me. I just started watching GH and only got the cliff notes version of past events so I'll be making up a lot of stuff on my own.

Name: Jinaya Jinx "Jinxie" Ward

DOB: April 24, 1983

Mother: Celeste Stevens

Father: unknown

Back-story: Jinaya's mother was the product of Mary Mae's son Bradley Ward affair. The woman skipped town with the baby and never contacted Bradley again. After her mother dies in an accident, Jinaya's mother, Celeste, was placed in foster care only to runaway at the age of 13. At 16 she shows up on Mary Mae's doorstep pregnant and strung out. Mary Mae tries her best to get Celeste clean and to take better care of herself and her child but Celeste isn't interested. After giving birth to Jinaya she takes off. Mary Mae never heard from her again. When Jinaya first meets Luke Spencer, she causes a slew of accidents, causing Luke to nickname Jinaya, Jinx, something she hates at first but eventually comes to embrace. When Jinx first meets Lucky he is 10 and she is 9. Jinx developed a crush on Lucky which make Lucky very uncomfortable. Even though he continuously tried to evade her he was quick to defend her when the other kids were teasing her because of her origins. Eventually Jinx got over her crush and she and Lucky became best friends. Because of their friendship Jinx spent a lot of time at the Spencer home earning her a place in both Luke and Laura's hearts as well. After Mary Mae passed away Justus, Jinx's uncle, offers to take in his niece but Jinx refused to leave the house not wanting to leave the only home she's ever known and the presence of Mary Mae's spirit. Luke and Laura, after much pleading from Lucky, agree to take her in as Mary Mae's spirit was just as strong in their house as hers. She stayed with them for years until Lucky's supposed "death" in the fire in his apartment.

The rest of Jinx's story will be revealed during the story.

Chapter 1 Welcome Home Jinxie

January 2010

Jinaya "Jinx" Anne Ward let out a shaky breath as she stood in front of The Haunted Star. Her heart was brimming with anxiety while she fought with herself over whether she had made the right choice. '_What if they don't want to see me?' _she took an involuntary step fears of rejection making her want to turn tail and run as fast as she could. She hadn't been in Port Charles in almost a decade. She had left that night and never looked back. She wasn't expecting a very warm welcome under the circumstances, but she couldn't deny the longing she had to see all of them. Even though she spent the last 9 years trying to escape her past, the people she left behind never left her thoughts. She had missed them terribly and it took a good amount of strength for her to stay away, but that was what she needed to do at the time. She had had so much to work through and after that horrible night, she knew she had to do it alone. It was a decision that was both difficult and heartbreaking but it was one she could not find herself regretting. After all, in those years she had seen more of the world she'd ever seen in her entire life. She had also earned her master's and had very big plans. Jinx had spent enough years helping herself. Now it was time to return the favor. With a deep breath, she held up her head and walked right into Luke's bar.

Luke stood behind the bar pouring himself a drink They weren't opening for another hour and after another one of his award winning fights with Tracy he felt he'd earned himself a shot. He sometimes wondered how they made their relationship work but somehow in midst of all the fighting there was some weird unspoken understanding between them to accept each other for who they are. Luke was about to down his drink when he heard the door open and shut.

"We're not open yet. Come back in an hour!" He called out while finishing his shot. When he still heard footsteps entering he groaned and slammed his glass down. "I said-." He froze mid sentence staring at the person who stood in the middle of the floor.

"Jinxie," Luke gasped.

Jinx's heart was going a mile a minute as she stared at her surrogate father. He had still looked the same, minus the blonde hair and clean shaven face. His eyes were just as warm and full of adventure as she remembered. "Hi," she squeaked her mind going blank with fear.

Luke stared in awe at the daughter he'd never had. She had grown considerably. Whereas the last time he saw her she was 5'2 now she stood at 5'6. Her once short hair now fell below her shoulders. Her caramel skin glowed in the light. She was no longer the skinny young girl who he had taken in. She had grown into a very beautiful woman, and he had missed it. The thought caused an ache inside him. He walked out from behind the bar and took slow steps toward her. Her brown eyes became glassy with unshed tears. Before he could stop himself he pulled her into his arms.

Jinx choked back a sob as she clutched onto the closest thing she's ever had to a father. She had dreamed of this moment for years, and even though she had not been expecting this reaction she'd always hoped for it.

"What took you?" He spoke into her ear causing her to both cry and laugh at the same time.

"You know me Uncle Luke, I could never be on time to save my life." Luke just held her tighter and she returned the favor. After several moments they finally parted and Luke led her to a nearby table. She took her seat across from him. Neither of them could contain the happiness on their faces at being together again.

"So…" Jinx began. Luke's brow raised in interest. "What's new with you?" There was a beat of silence before it filled with the sound of their intermingled laughter Luke wiped at his eye and took Jinx's hand in his.

"How you been showgirl?" He asked. Jinx smiled at the old endearment Luke had given her.

"Good. I've been keeping myself out of trouble, unlike you," She said. Luke gave her a unconvincing confused look.

"I don't know what you mean." Jinx just laughed.

"Sure you don't," Jinx said rolling her eyes. "How's Lulu?"

No sooner had the question left her mouth did the blonde girl in question come storming in the bar. "Dad, you will not believe what I just heard- oh," she stopped short a few feet from the two. "Sorry I didn't realize you had company." Luke looked at Jinx whose back was to Lulu and stood up.

"No its okay sweetheart, you actually have very good timing. " Luke went around the table and up to Lulu. "I think there's someone here you'd like to see."

Jinx turned to face the woman who she had considered her little sister. She had grown so much. Jinx barley recognized her. She watched as the recognition appeared on her face.

"I know I owe you an expla-," Lulu threw her arms around Jinx before she could finish her statement. Jinx immediately hugged her back. "I missed you so much," Lulu cried finally pulling away.

"Me too," Jinx told her. She took a strand of her blonde hair between her fingers. "Last time I saw you, you were a brunette," She laughed. Lulu smiled at her.

"Shh, it's my deep dark secret," she joked. Jinx chuckled and hugged her again.

Once the girls were done crying over each other the reunited three sat down and began catching up with one another. Jinx told Luke and Lulu decided to get her degree. She spent the last 6 years earning both her B.A and Masters in social work.

"What did you do before that?" Lulu asked her.

"Traveled mostly for the first few months, then I-," She took a breath. "I went through some things and had to take some time to get myself together."

Luke and Lulu shared a look.

"I'm fine now," Jinx assured them. "That's what matters. Besides I learned a lot about myself during that time in my life and I needed to go through what I went through in order for me to move on and realize what I wanted to do with my life, which is one of the reasons I came back, other than the obvious of course."

"Do tell showgirl," Luke pressed.

"Not yet. It's sort of a surprise."

"Aww come on, I think I've been kept in the dark about your life long enough," Luke argued, but Jinx just shook her head.

"I don't want to excite anybody until it's a done deal. Besides, I did tell you some of the things I was doing."

"Yeah, in postcards," Luke snorted, "and letters with no return addresses. All of which contained the bare minimal of information." Jinx could see Luke getting frustrated. He was beginning to have the reaction she always feared he'd have.

"You know why I did that." Jinx said quietly.

"Yeah, I know you didn't want me to come after you, but you could've at least given me a phone number, or some way I could contact you. Maybe I coulda let you know how we were doing without you"

"Dad, lets not do this now okay, she's back. Can't we just be happy about that now?" Lulu pleaded. Jinx gave her a grateful smile.

"It's fine Lulu. Uncle Luke, if I allowed myself to talk to any of you I knew I'd just run back here and that wasn't what I needed. And anyway if I'd given the slightest bit of info of where I was or where I'd been you would not have been able to stop yourself." Jinx could see Luke was about to protest. "Look me in the eye and tell me that's not true." Luke was about to do just that before he stopped himself.

"Damn it! After all these years you still are the one person I cannot lie to." Jinx smiled at him.

'Why is that?" She asked perplexed at how the king of cons was never able to tell her one falsehood.

Luke looked into her eyes and said, "You remind me too much of her, and God help I could never lie to that woman." Jinx's smile slowly faded and she gave a slight nod of her head. He didn't have to tell her who he was talking about. For years all she heard from everyone was how much she both resembled and acted like her great grandmother.

"Listen, I know I probably put you through hell when I left and I can never apologize enough for that but leaving Port Charles was something I had to do. I needed a fresh start. So many things had happened; I was suffocating in despair I just needed a change and I knew you would never had let me go willingly especially after what happened to Lucky." Jinx could barely say his name Luke and Lulu both noticed.

Jinx continued, "You guys have to know I never stopped thinking about you, and there was no way I could have stayed away if I wasn't keeping tabs on you."

"Oh well that's good to know," A voice said from the behind them.

Jinx turned around to face the newcomer and gasped.

Lucky Spencer stood before in a black coat and anger on his face. Jinx was frozen.

"It's nice to know that while we were worried sick about you, you couldn't even be bothered to pick up the damn phone." Lucky fumed.

Eeasy cowboy," Luke said standing trying to calm Lucky.

"No dad, she comes here after how many years no word and we're just suppose to accept it?"

"She did keep in touch Lucky," Lulu defended. Lucky let out a humorless laugh.

"Yeah she did didn't she? I saw all the postcards you sent to dad Jinx. Guess I didn't warrant any such gesture right. For 9 years I didn't get so much as a birthday card but you made sure dad knew all about your little exploits huh."

"Lucky that's enough!" scolded Luke. Jinx hadn't taken her eyes off of Lucky the entire time. Tears were running down her face, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Lucky?" She managed to gasp out.

Lucky just ignored her. "You know what have your little reunion. I suddenly have better places to be," he remarked coldly before angrily walking out the door.

Lulu gave Jinx a sympathetic look and went after him. Luke let out a disappointed sigh and shook his head.

"Give him time Jinxie. He just needs to cool down." Luke finally looked at Jinx who had came to stand next to him and saw that she was pale. Her expression was frightened and shocked. "Jinxie? Jinxie what's wrong?" She slowly looked to him before her eyes rolled up. She fell barely missed the floor as he caught her in his arms. "Jinxie! Jinxie wake up. Come on showgirl open those eyes for me." Luke begged.

After a few seconds Jinx's eyes slowly fluttered open. "There you are. Don't scare me like that." Luke teased, though she could hear the fear in his voice.

"What happened?" she asked. Luke slowly helped her onto her feet.

"You passed out. I don't what happened but you looked as though you saw a ghost," Luke answered. Jinxie's head snapped up.

"Lucky. I thought I saw Lucky." She said her voice shaky.

"You did." Luke told her his face a mask of confusion. "He was here."

Jinx's looked to Luke and shook her head. "No, that can't be." Luke looked at Jinxie his frown deepening.

"Yes, he was here, remember?" Jinx shook her head harder.

No! That's impossible." She cried." He's dead. Luke, Lucky's dead."


	2. Chapter 2

Fire Burns Cold

1999

Jinx had been walking for the past hour trying to clear her head but what happened in the apartment kept flashing through her head. She knew she needed to go back and talk to Lucky but she was afraid. It seem liked things were changing between them and she didn't know how to deal with it. She was still so messed up from what had happened to her and this seemed like it would just complicate things but, she couldn't help the little flicker of hope and joy in her at what had occurred. Lucky had always been there for her. He was where she felt safe. Maybe what happened was just nature taking it's course, or maybe it was just two friends in need of comfort. Either way, Jinx knew she couldn't let it go, and that they would have to talk about it.

Jinx continued walking for another half hour before returning to the apartment confident in her decision and what she was about to do. She came to a stop at the sight of black smoke in the distance. Jogging the rest of the way she came up to the bike shop and gasped at what she saw.

The entire building was engulfed in flames. There were teams of firemen, police, and bystanders around. Jinx spotted Elizabeth in the street with Officer Taggart. She ran over to them.

"Lizzy," she called. Elizabeth turned to her voice, it seemed like it took a moment for her presence to register till she threw herself in Jinx's arms sobbing.

"What happened?" Jinx asked. "Where's Lucky?"

Elizabeth just sobbed harder. Jinx looked over Elizabeth's shoulder at Officer Taggart who couldn't seem to look her in the eye. A horrible feeling formed in the pit of Jinx's stomach and her heart began to ache. Jinx tool Elizabeth's face in her hands.

"Liz, Answer me. Where. Is. Lucky?" Elizabeth was unable to form the words, but Jinx saw the answer in her eyes. Elizabeth threw herself back into her embrace. Jinx held onto her in shock. '_This couldn't be happening_,' she thought. Lucky couldn't be dead. He was the most important person in her life. She needed him. She suddenly couldn't hear anything. All the chaos around her seemed to silence. She couldn't even feel Elizabeth anymore. She couldn't feel anything. She was numb. It was as though she was no longer in her body. She was aware of Taggart talking to her but she couldn't understand him. She couldn't understand anything anymore. She felt Bobbi take Elizabeth off of her but she still couldn't move. All she could do was stare at the burning building almost transfixed by its blaze. She should cry, she should be sobbing her heart out like Elizabeth but she couldn't. It was like she was a spectator in her own life. This couldn't effect her because it wasn't happening to her. It was happening to someone else. Her moment of disassociation was cut short when the paramedics rolled by with the body on the gurney zipped up in a black bag. Running over to them she pulled the gurney to a stop and attempted to open the bag. She felt the paramedics grab her arms in an attempt to stop her. She slapped at their hands and continued to unzip the body. When she finally got it open and saw the charge remains of her best friend she could hear Liz screaming in the background When she was finally dragged away by none other than Luke and held in his arms as he gently stroked her hair whispering soothing words, she realized Liz wasn't screaming at all. She was. While Luke rocked her back and forward in his arms she couldn't help thinking how she'd lost two of the most influential people in her life before she was 18, first Grandma Mae Mae, now Lucky. Maybe Luke was right from the beginning. Maybe she really was jinxed.


	3. Chapter 3

Lulu raced after Lucky. "Hey!" she called, sick of running. Lucky finally came to a halt but did not turn around. "Could you pretend to be an adult for five minutes and talk to me?" Lucky rolled his eyes and exhaled as he faced his obviously pissed little sister.

"What the hell was that back there?"

Lucky shrugged as if he had no idea what she meant. "What was what?"

Lulu stared up at him in shock. "How could you talk to Jinxie like that? She was like our sister. She was your best friend."

"_Was_ being the operative word here. She left us Lulu. No warning, no word just gone like we never mattered to her." Lucky turned away from Lulu, not wanting to take his anger out on her. Lulu took a step closer brother.

"You know that's not true. If anything she left _because _she cared about us so much." Lucky scoffed at the idea. "You know its true. You know why she left, why she felt the need to run away." Lulu reminded him.

Lucky turned his head toward her. "Even if that's true, it doesn't explain why she stayed away. She could have come back years ago. Why did she stay away so long?"

Lulu didn't know how to answer him. Lucky touched her arm and murmured a goodbye before walking off.

Back at the Haunted Star

Luke stared at Jinx like she'd sprouted a second head. "Jinxie, Lucky's not dead. He was just here. You saw him."

Jinx eyes became wild. She kept shaking her head. "No, I couldn't have. He died. I remember. I saw his body. He died in the fire. "

Realization suddenly dawned on Luke's face. "Oh sweetheart, you never knew did you, " he said finally understanding her reaction to Lucky. Somehow Jinx had never gotten the news of Lucky's abduction by Helena Cassadine and his phony death. When she saw Lucky in front of her she was seeing a ghost. Luke walked her back to her chair and sat her in it. He knelt down in front of her holding her hands in his.

"Lucky was never dead Jinxie." He told her looking in her eyes, gauging her reaction. He watched the confusion form on her face.

Jinx began to shake her head again. "What? What are you talking about, they-they found his body." She said.

Luke swallowed and took a breath before telling her all that had occurred. Jinx listened as Luke told her the most insane story she'd ever heard. She listened as he told her about kidnappings, hypnoses, and deprogramming. Jinx couldn't believe it. For 9 years she grieved over Lucky Spencer and he was never dead. If only she'd come back sometime before now, maybe he wouldn't hate her so much now. How had this information gotten by her? She thought of her informant in Port Charles, the person she trusted to let her know if her family needed her or if there was something big that would necessitate her return. Why had they kept this to themselves? How could Lucky's "resurrection" not rate as need to know information?

"You all right?" Luke asked seeing she was having some kind of internal debate. Jinx snapped out of her inner dialogue.

"Yeah I'm okay." She said

"Listen showgirl, about Lucky. I'm sure if you give him a few days-."

"Actually Uncle Luke," Jinx interrupted. "I need to go see someone really quick. It's kind of important." She said standing to her feet. Luke seemed momentarily stunned then nodded.

"Sure Showgirl, I'll see you later." He said as she walked to the door. "I will see you later right?" He asked. Jinx stopped and turned back.

"I'm not going anywhere Uncle Luke. I promise." She said resolve in her voice. Luke smiled and raised his glass to her.

Jinx made her way out of the Haunted Star and got in her car. For her next destination she was going to need assistance from her GPS. Looking in her glove compartment she removed a worn envelope. She typed the return address on the envelope into the GPS. Once the route was highlighted she took off down the street ready to give someone a whole lot of hell.

Lucky walked into his house and removed his coat. He ran his hands through his short hair and down his face with a moan. He was still angry even after walking all the way home. Never in a million years would he have guessed when he got up this morning he would see the face of the girl who haunted him for years. Even though he would never admit it aloud, Lucky had never stopped thinking about Jinx. He always wondered where she was, what she was thinking, if she ever thought about him. He never realized how angry he was with her till he saw her. Sure he'd been sad when his father told him how she'd left after his "funeral", but back then he'd always assumed she'd come back once she knew he was alive. When she hadn't he'd been worried. He thought maybe Helena had gone after her, but when Luke started getting the post card and letters he knew that wasn't true. Some part of him had always held onto the hope that maybe she didn't know he'd return. He didn't want to believe she'd just abandon him after everything they'd been through together.

When he had walked into the Haunted Star and saw his father and sister talking to a woman, he found it strange but didn't think much of it till he heard her speak. No matter how her appearance may have changed she'd always have that voice. He knew who she was instantly after that. Suddenly he couldn't get enough air and his heart turned traitor on him beating so fast he' thought he it would burst. He couldn't believe she was there. He had to stop himself from snatching her out of the seat, taking her in his arms and never let her go. He'd been about to announce himself when he heard her tell his father and sister she'd checked up on them through the years. He felt that flame of hope extinguish in that one moment and he felt a rage he'd never felt before. Before he could stop himself he was tearing into her. Even the hurt look in her eyes couldn't deter him. He had thought to himself she'd deserved it. Her few seconds of pain couldn't compare to the years of his that she had put him through. Even still, there was something on her face that he bothered him but he couldn't quite place it. Needing a break from his head, Lucky went to his record collection and pulled one of his many blues records. He put on a song and attempted to lose himself in the music.

Elizabeth was running around trying to get ready for work when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was Lucky come to pick up the boys, she opened the door without checking and froze at the sight. Jinaya Ward stood in front of her looking strikingly beautiful with a smile on her face that didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"Hey Lizzie. How've you been?"


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth stared in shock at her old friend. She quickly tried to regain her composure. "Jinxie! Oh my God," She exclaimed. The two tentatively embraced. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back to town?" Elizabeth asked pulling away.

"I wanted to surprise everyone." Jinx replied with a shrug. Elizabeth looked nervously over Jinx's shoulder. Jinx raised her brow curiously. "You expecting somebody?"

Elizabeth quickly shook her head. "No, no, come in," She said ushering Jinx into the living room shutting the door behind her. The two took a seat on opposite sides of the couch.

Elizabeth put on her best smile and offered her something to drink. "No thanks. So how are you?" She asked excitedly. "It's been awhile since we talked."

Elizabeth gave a small smile as she anxiously twiddled her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had been dreading this day for years and it had finally arrived. She didn't know how she had allowed herself to keep up the secrets as long as she did. As long as Jinx stayed away everything seemed simple and perfect. She got to keep her friend and her lover. With Jinx being back it complicated everything.

"I know. I've just been so busy with the boys and all." She explained.

"Oh I 'm sure, I know firsthand how much of a hassle kids can be. I was chasing down kids before I was teenager." Jinx joked. Elizabeth chuckled uneasily. "You sure your okay, you look a little pale."

"I'm fine, I'm just getting over this stomach bug I had, but I'm much better now." She lied."Have you seen anyone yet?" She questioned Jinx trying not to act suspiciously.

"Well," Jinx began. "I did just come from seeing Luke and Lulu." Elizabeth's heart jumped, but she covered her panic quickly and plastered a fake smile.

"Really? How'd it go?" she asked trying to act concerned. Jinx's smile turned almost mischievous and her gaze shifted off to the corner.

"It went so much better than I thought it would." She told her.

"Really?" Elizabeth inquired still fishing for more info.

"Yeah, I was so afraid they would hate me after all these years, but Uncle Luke and Lulu really made me feel as if I never left."

"That's great… so you haven't seen anyone else?" Elizabeth pressed. Jinx gave her a strange look.

"Who else is there to see?" She asked curiously. Elizabeth began to stutter."I-I don't know, maybe Edward, or Nikolas." Elizabeth could barely say Nikolas' name without her heart speeding up. Jinx gave a soft gasp and nodded.

"Your right, I mean Edward _is_ my great grandfather. I'm sure he'll want to see me. And I would like to see Nik. But I suppose I will run into him eventually since I'm moving back to town."

Elizabeth froze. "Lizzy, maybe you should lie down. I don't think you're quite over that bug yet," Jinx suggested. Elizabeth shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak and shut it. She repeated the action two more times.

"You're moving back here?"

"Oh yeah, that was the other surprise," Jinx revealed with a smirk. Elizabeth looked completely dejected. Her life would be changing for the worse if she wasn't careful. Everything was riding on how she handled this situation.

"Jinxie, there's something you should know," She began. Jinx tilted her head slightly and furrowed her brow.

"About what?" she asked with an almost childlike innocence. Elizabeth took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"It's about Lucky." She continued. She gently laid her hand on Jinx's as to prepare her. Jinx placed her other hand atop of hers.

"What about Lucky?" she asked her voice soft.

"This is going to be difficult to hear," Elizabeth stalled, still fearful over what she was about to confess.

"What is it about Lucky that you need to tell me Lizzy? It couldn't be that he's alive and has been back in Port Charles for years, is it?" Jinx suddenly said, her voice losing all trace of amicableness. Elizabeth's head shot up, her mouth dropped open in shock.

"What?" Elizabeth questioned her heart going in overtime.

"Oh don't feel bad Lizzy, I mean you only kept it from me for, oh about 8 years. Bigger secrets have been kept a lot longer. You should be proud of yourself." Jinx suggested her voice laced with sarcasm. She then jerked her hand away from hers and jumped to her feet. Elizabeth stayed seated almost in a daze. "I honestly don't know why I was so surprised, I mean about the only thing we've ever argued about was Lucky. Sure, we said we wouldn't let him come between us and for awhile we were okay, not on the best terms, but I honestly could not have fathomed what lengths you would go through to keep him and me apart."

Elizabeth slowly shook off her shock and stood up to face her former friend. "Jinxie you have to believe me, I didn't do this to hurt you," She claimed. Her face the epitome of regret, but Jinx seriously doubted any of it was because of what she'd done.

"Oh no, I know exactly why you did it Elizabeth. I knew why the minute I found out he was alive. You couldn't stand how close Lucky and I were, you made that perfectly clear before he died. You saw your opportunity to keep us apart and you jumped on it." Elizabeth shook her head denying the accusation. "Yes you did, you did Elizabeth, stop trying to pretend otherwise."

Elizabeth began to cry. "Jinxie you're my friend I never meant to-"

"To what Lizzy? Get caught! Obviously."

"No, I wanted to tell you I almost did," she professed. Jinx let out a cynical snort. "I did. But then all the stuff with the brainwashing was going on and he wasn't the same. He wasn't our Lucky anymore and I didn't want to get your hopes up and have you come back only to find out it wasn't the Lucky you remembered. You already had so much to deal with."

"Oh!" Jinx exclaimed. "So you did it for me? You only wanted to protect me?" Jinx crossed her hands over her heart. "Well thank you Lizzy. It means so much to me that you would take the time out of your distraught state and think about my feelings."

"It's true Jinxie. After he got better, so much had happened and so much time had passed I just didn't know how to tell you." Elizabeth insisted.

"Well how bout this," Jinxie put her hand up to her ear letting it act as her mock telephone. "Hey Jinxe guess what, you know your best friend who we thought had burned to death in that horrible fire months ago, well it turns out he didn't."

Elizabeth nodded, the tears on her face making a mess of the mascara she had on. "I know it was wrong Jinxie and I should have told you, I was just worried about you-,"

"Stop it Lizzy! Okay just stop it! Sell the BS to someone else, cause I'm no longer buying it okay?" Jinx shouted. Elizabeth hung her head and sniffed.

"He hates me now, you know that? He can't stand to be in the same room with me. To be fair I suppose I'd feel the same way if the person I considered to be a friend treated me like I didn't exist for 8 years, of course in my defense I didn't think he existed."

"I'm sorry." She whispered hugging herself. Jinxie ignored her, until something caught her eye. She looked closer at Elizabeth's right hand and saw red. With a false smile she gazed pointedly at the engagement ring on Elizabeth's finger.

"I guess congratulations are in order huh?" Elizabeth instinctively placed her arms down. Jinx shook her head disapprovingly.

"I suppose he has no idea you've been keeping in touch with me this whole time?" Elizabeth raised her head, fear evident on her face.

"Please don't tell him. Please Jinxie, he'll never forgive me." She begged. Jinx was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

"Well he isn't the only one," Jinx stated. She moved to the door when Elizabeth jumped in front of her putting her hands on Jinx's upper arms.

"Jinxie please, I love Lucky so much. I always have. He's the only father my kids know. If you tell him what I've done and he leaves me, where will that leave the boys? They don't deserve to lose their father because of what I did. Don't punish them please, I'm begging you." She pleaded panic in her eyes. Jinx wanted to tell her to go to hell that she didn't owe Elizabeth anything, but she thought about those boys, how her own father was MIA in her life, and how fortunate she had felt when Luke had taken her in. If Luke had suddenly disappeared from her life she'd been devastated.

"Your right, they don't deserve to suffer for their mother's selfishness." She spat out the word causing Elizabeth to flinch. "I won't tell him." Elizabeth dropped her arms let out a small sigh of relief.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"Don't. I'm not doing it for you. And I want to make sure you understand this. As far as you and I are concerned there is no more you and I got it? From now on you're as dead to me as Lucky was all those years." Jinx pushed her way past her ignoring Elizabeth's hurt look and stomped out of the house leaving a disheartened and worried Elizabeth alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Three days later

Jinx checked herself in the mirror before heading out. She wanted to look as professional as possible when she went to her meeting today. She ran her hands down her black jacket and skirt smoothing out any lines that might be present. Her white blouse was crisp and clean underneath. She wanted to look flawless. Everything was riding on this meeting going well. She went to her suitcase and dug out her favorite scarf. She had yet to unpack because she refused to make herself comfortable in the Quatermaine mansion. After her blow out with Elizabeth she headed back to the Haunted Star to collect herself. Luke had tried to get her to confide in him about what happened but she refused. When he asked her where she was staying for the time being and she told him a hotel he immediately dumped on that idea and forced her to return with him to the Quatermaine mansion. She'd protested at first but he pleaded with her and she couldn't say no. Edward of course had welcomed her with open arms offering her permanent residence in the household which she refused, letting both him and Luke know the situation was temporary. She was determined to make her own way. Besides she couldn't take all of Tracy's snide comments about her freeloading and trying to take advantage of Edward. Giving her reflection one last look, grabbed her leather case with all the documents she needed and headed out.

Lucky sat at his desk at the station catching up with some paperwork. At least he was trying to, but his concentration was not on his task. In fact his thoughts had been on one person for the last three days despite his best efforts to pretend she didn't exist. Even after all these years Jinx had the ability to take precedent in his mind. It'd been like that since they were kids. Once they became friends they were rarely apart. Before Mary Mae's death he'd spent countless times at the Bradley ward house and Jinx had practically already moved into his home. He always had her back and she had his. And after the night of the Valentine's Day dance, he had vowed he would never leave her alone again. That night had changed everything, not just for her, but for their relationship as well. Lucky looked at his phone and saw three missed calls from his father. He had been avoiding his father not wanting him to try to guilt him into talking to her. Luke had a tendency to take Jinx's side on everything. Of course it didn't help that she was usually right about everything. That use to both annoy and impress him. Lucky tried to throw himself into his work, the kids and Liz but Jinx was always at the back of his mind. It also didn't help that Liz had become even more jumpy than usual. After he told her about Jinx she became really distant and he wasn't sure why. The three of them had been friends but for awhile it had seemed like something had come between the two that he didn't quite understand, but they had appeared to work through it. He thought she'd want to see Jinx, but maybe she was as hurt as he was. He could understand that. Liz hadn't heard from her either so he knew how that felt.

Lucky ran a tired hand over his face and tried to complete his paperwork when a something caught his eye. He saw someone come out of one of the offices and leave the station. He sat for a moment debating with himself before giving in and following behind them.

Jinx tried unsuccessfully to balance her briefcase, folder and keys while trying to unlock the car door. Her meeting with the bank went well and she had gotten the information she needed at the station. She still had a ton of things left to do but she was very excited. She couldn't wait till everything came together. Mary Mae would be so proud of what she was trying to accomplish, even Luke would approve. Jinx managed to get the key in the lock before dropping her folder causing a slew of papers to scatter at her feet. With a groan she placed her briefcase on the hood and proceeded to pick them up when a shadow appeared in her line of vision. She looked up into the cold stare of her former best friend.

Lucky looked down at Jinx, her brown eyes staring up at him. He tried to ignore the tug he felt in his heart. She grabbed a stack of papers in her hand and awkwardly stood to meet his gaze.

"Lucky," she said her voice was quiet, almost as if she were afraid. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"Really?" He asked unconvinced. "You know it's a police station, usually a place where officers congregate."

"I just had some things to take care of." She explained.

"Hmm, what kind of things do you need from the Port Charles police, anything I can help with it?" he asked. Not that he would, at least that's what he told himself, he just wanted to know what she was up to and what had brought her back after all these years.

"It's nothing, really, just checking up on some stuff that's all." Everything in her voice and body language said she was hiding something. Lucky chuckled humorlessly at her.

"Wow, you are still a horrible liar. Nice to know something about you stayed the same." He said almost bitterly.

Jinx looked to him. "Lucky, I know you hate me right now-,"

"I don't hate you," She looked at him hopeful. "See you'd have to feel something for someone to hate them and I stopped feeling anything for you a long time ago. He continued, his eyes cold, but she couldn't miss the pain in his voice.

"You don't mean that." She said softly. Lucky took a step toward her.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think you know anything about me anymore? You've been gone for years Jinx. A lot has happened, all with you nowhere to be found. Do you have any idea what I went through? Did you even care?" He asked his voice barely whisper. Tears sprang to her eyes at the hurt in his voice.

"Lucky-,"

"Now you show up when I've got my life going the way I want it? I needed you. I needed you and you weren't here. How could you do that to me?"

"Lucky I didn't know," She tried to explain.

"You didn't want to know!" He shouted, misunderstanding her. "I'm sure not knowing all the pain that was happening here made it a lot easier to stay away. Jinx franticly shook her head tears running down her face, denying everything.

"That's not it Lucky you have to understand I didn't-,"

"I understand just fine. You're not the girl I grew up with.

"No Lucky, please-,"  
"You moved on with your life and so did I. I'm happy now, and I don't need you in my life. So whatever you came here to do just do it and go back to wherever it was you came from." Without another word Lucky turned his back on her and walked back into the station leaving her alone and heartbroken for the second time in her life.


	6. Chapter 6

After her encounter with Lucky, Jinx didn't feel up to running anymore errands. She didn't even feel like being upright. All she wanted to do was run to the nearest bed, curl up in it and cry, so she did. How could things have gotten so messed up between her and Lucky? Sure it would be so easy to blame Liz, but she couldn't ignore her part in both her and Lucky's pain. If she hadn't have been so afraid to return to PC before now, maybe things would be different. She'd avoided coming back for so long because her memories seemed to haunt her, both good and tragic.

1996

"Coming!" Lucky called downstairs as he raced to the front door. He smiled when he saw Jinx but immediately began to frown when he took in her appearance. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains streaked her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Jinx didn't answer him as she stepped inside the house. Lucky shut the door and stood beside her. "Jinx, Jinx what happened?" He asked again. She finally looked up at him. Lucky could see pain in her eyes and he knew something horrible had happened. "Jinxie please." He said softly taking her hand in his.

Jinx turned her face from his. "Where are your parents?"

Lucky stared at her for a second before leading her to the kitchen.

Luke and Laura sat at the table eating breakfast. Laura was holding Leslie Lu in one arm while she ate with the other. She looked up and smiled at the pair of teens as they stepped in the room. "Good morning Jinx," she said before going back to feeding the baby. Luke gave her a welcoming smile as he took a sip of coffee.

Lucky couldn't stop staring at Jinx. She looked so distant, like she wasn't really in the room with them. Lucky pulled out a seat for Jinx and she robotically sat down never saying a word. Lucky went to the cabinet and got a glass so he could get her some water.

"So how's Mae Mae this morning?" Luke asked. Lucky brought her the glass of water and placed it in front of her.

"She's asleep." Jinx finally spoke. Lucky had never heard her sound like that before. She sounded lost.

Laura and Luke looked at each other confused. "At this hour?" Laura asked. "She's usually up before all of Port Charles," she laughed.

"She was really tired." Jinx said. "I was gonna let her sleep. Cause she was so tired." Something in Jinx's voice caused both Luke and Laura to look up at her. "I woke up and she wasn't up yet. She's usually always awake before me. I always wake up to her singing downstairs while she cooks breakfast." The entire atmosphere in the kitchen changed. Something poignant was in the air. And even though none of the Spencers knew what was going on, they suddenly knew that things were bad. "When I didn't hear her I thought maybe she'd left the house early. " Jinx continued. She looked up at Lucky. "She does that sometimes." Jinx began picking at her own shirt. "But when I checked her room she was still in bed. She was just sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up, but I knew she'd fuss at me if I let her sleep to long so I called her but she didn't hear me." At this point Laura had begun clutching Lulu to her. Her eyes suddenly worried. Luke was quiet as he reached for Jinx's hand.

"What happened sweetheart?" he asked gently. Jinx continued on with her story as if she didn't hear him.

"I went up to her and I tapped her on the shoulder, but she was just so tired."

"Oh God," Laura gasped.

Jinx looked to Luke desperation in her eyes. "I shook her, but not hard, I didn't want to scare her. I called her again but she wouldn't wake up. I started to yell, I know I shouldn't have Uncle Luke but I just wanted her to wake up, I just wanted her to open her eyes."

Luke began to rub her hand. "It's okay Jinxie, it's alright."

"I called her over and over again and I started to shake her really hard, but she wouldn't-," Jinxie stopped and looked over at Laura. "She wasn't breathing." Tears began to fall from Laura's eyes. Luke looked away blinking away his own tears. "The paramedics said, they said, it must have happened in her sleep, but that's not right. I mean how someone can go to sleep one night and just not wake up. That doesn't make sense. She was fine last night, she was. We had dinner and she was laughing, and she was fine."

"Jinxie, honey, do Justus and Keesha know?" Luke asked. Jinx shook her head.

"I'll call Justus." Luke said his voice devoid of any of his usual exuberance.

Lucky had pulled up a chair right next to her and took her hands in his.

"Jinx," he called. She met his gaze."What am I gonna do without her?" She whispered."She's all I have."

"Hey, you know that's not true. You've got Justus and Keesha, my mom and dad." He assured her tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "You've got me, till forever remember?" He hugged her to him as she clutched him. "It's gonna be alright Jinx. I'm right here. I'm always right here."

2010

A soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She quickly wiped her eyes and shoved all the scattered tissue under her sheet hiding the evidence of her horrible day.

"Come in," She called out trying to keep her voice form breaking.

Luke came in waving a flask in front of him. "Drink?" he offered with a smile.

Jinx couldn't help but laugh. "Your cure for everything."

"Almost everything." He sat down next to her on the bed.

"You wanna talk showgirl?"

Jinx shook her head and laid her head on his shoulder.

Luke put his arm around her shoulder. Luke had missed this. Even when Lucky had been returned to him and Lulu was safe there had been a hole in his heart where Jinx once resided. She was as much his child to him as Lucky and Lulu were. Even knowing she was okay out in the world didn't make it easier to not have her around.

"When you first came to stay with us, Laura was so worried about you. 'She's fragile' she said, 'we have to be gentle with her.' I knew otherwise. You see Laura being Laura could only see a sad young girl. Me on the other hand I saw you for exactly who you were and still are."

"Who am I?" Jinx asked curiously.

"You are your great grandmother through and through. Kind, loving, strong, and stubborn as they come." He said ruffling her hair for emphasis causing her to smile.

"Many things Mary Mae was, but a victim she was not and neither are you. You proved that years ago. I had never been more proud of you as I was back then. I'm not going to sit here and let you turn yourself into one on account of my son."

Jinx was momentarily shocked at how Luke knew exactly what was bothering her. She could never truly hide anything from Luke, not that she had ever really wanted to. Her relationship with Luke went past guardianship. She used to be able to talk to him about anything, even things she was too embarrassed to tell Laura.

Luke lifted her head so he could meet her eyes. "You are the best of the Wards, and every day you make not only me proud but them to. If I know one thing it's that you will continue to do so regardless of what _anyone _says or thinks. Got it?" Jinx blinked back unshed tears and smiled.

"Got it." She replied. Luke gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head and exited the room.

Jinx knew Luke was right. No matter how horrible she felt about how things were with Lucky she could not let that bring her down. She had come too far and went through too much to let herself get knocked down, no matter who was doing the pushing. She had forgotten herself. Three days in Port Charles and she was already reverting back to the 17 year old girl who left. That girl had been through a lot, Luke wasn't wrong about that. In fact if it hadn't been for Luke and Lucky she didn't know how she would've coped. They made her strong. It was time for Lucky to see just how strong she was.

Lucky switched on the light as he entered his house not noticing jumped at the lone figure sitting on his couch.

"Evening cowboy," Luke greeted. Lucky whipped around to see his father staring up at him.

"Jesus dad," Lucky exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You hate coming here. "

"Let's not pretend you don't know what this is about." Luke responded.

Lucky let out a loud sigh as he removed and hung up his coat.

"I see you talked to Jinx."

"She didn't tell me a thing. She didn't have too. No one on this Earth can affect that girl the way you can."

"Look dad, if you're here to try to get me to apologize and forgive and forget your wasting your time." Lucky leaned against the banister.

"Am I?" Luke inquired with a raised brow.

"Yeah, you are. What Jinxie did to me-," he stopped and corrected himself. "What she did to _us_ was unforgivable."

"I'll be the judge of what's forgivable to me if you don't mind." Luke replied raising a finger.

Lucky scoffed and shook his head. "I can't believe you. After all she put you through, she just snaps her fingers and you act like nothing's changed."

Luke shook his head disappointed. "I would think you of all people would understand why I need to forgive her Lucky."

"Really, why's that dad?

Luke rose from his seat and grabbed his coat from where he had laid it on table. "We already went 9 years without her cowboy. I'm not in a hurry to do that again."

Lucky was silent as his father's words hit him. Luke put on his coat and headed toward the door.

"There's gonna come a time when you'll have to ask yourself if keeping this anger is worth losing her forever." With that said Luke left Lucky alone in his home more confused than he's ever been.

His father's words permeated within his head. It couldn't be that simple. The pain Jinx put him through was unlike any he'd ever known. He'd felt abandoned, unimportant… he felt as though she never felt for him what he had for her. Before his kidnapping she had been the most important person in his life, a fact he at times felt guilty about, but it'd been true. His bond with her went beyond friendship. He felt the loss of her presence every day and whether he admitted it or not having her back in his life did grant him a peace he had never been able to feel no matter how much time he spent with Liz and the boys. Even still, he didn't think he could just pick up where they left off. Too much had happened. He had a life that didn't include Jinx, no matter how much he had wished differently in the past. Maybe his father could just squeeze her back into his life but Lucky couldn't afford to. He couldn't risk feeling that pain again, he wouldn't. So why the ache in his heart at his father's words? Why was it that both times he'd been in her presence he had the longing to take her in his arms? Why can't he stop thinking about her for one minute? With a shout Lucky grabbed one of his chairs and slung it across the room. Life had seemed so much less complicated when he was "dead".


	7. Chapter 7

I know my updates seem few and far between but I just don't want to write upload crap in a hurry. I'd rather wait til I feel inspired and write something I can be proud of. But I will do my best to try to keep the updates coming A.S.A.P.

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Elizabeth was folding laundry in her home. She had been contemplating the same thing for the past two days. Lucky had overheard Nikolas saying how he loved her. Fortunately he had not figured out that the feeling was mutual or that they were sleeping together. As of right now his anger was directed at Nikolas, and though that was bad she was thankful it wasn't her. She really didn't want to lose Lucky. She realized how quickly and surprisingly secrets could come out. Lucky had been so close to figuring out the truth. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if he had. The events caused her to rethink keeping the truth about her part in keeping him and Jinx apart. How long could she rely on Jinx to keep it to herself? If the roles had been reversed she would've told Lucky about her transgression as soon as she found out. Maybe if she admitted it now he wouldn't be so angry, after all it's not like she made Jinx leave. Besides, Lucky would never leave the children, at least not over this. Maybe years ago when he still was looking for her to return, but since his longing turned to anger he never mentioned her again. After everything her and Lucky went through he wouldn't just drop her for Jinx now. She was sure the both of them had changed in those years and probably wouldn't be as close as they had been before the fire. Elizabeth could admit that she had kept Lucky's return from Jinx because she had been jealous of their growing relationship. She had wanted Lucky since she first met him and he had never really given her a chance, especially after what had happen to Jinx. The two were together all the time. She watched as Lucky doted on Jinx, protected her, and comforted her. She saw something stirring between the two. She knew back then if the two were to gain feelings for one another there would be no chance for her and Lucky. When Lucky had returned after being brainwashed by Helena she saw her chance to get him to fall for her. With his memories all warped she could start fresh with him and get him to see her as more than the young girl who had a crush on him. Eventually it had worked, Lucky had fell for her, and yes they had some problems and issues in their time together but now everything was right. They were going to get married and things would be fine. Elizabeth began putting up the clothes and let out a resolved sigh. It was time for her to come clean. Then she and Lucky could begin their lives together. She just needed to finally end things with Nikolas.

Jinx had faced the next couple of days with even more vigor than the last. She had a goal to make and she would not stop until she made it. She had spoken to a doctor at general who was more than happy to help her with her project. She managed to keep her focus squarely on her tasks, well at least that was before some insane maniac had come to town and kidnapped Lulu. Apparently there was some psycho named Franco who idolized Jason and would do horrible things when he was in town. This time he'd taken both Lulu and Jason's girlfriend Sam and forced him to chose who to save while they sat in two different buildings rigged to explode, only Sam's bomb had been fake. Jinx couldn't believe how sick that guy was. Poor Lulu wasn't handling it well, not that Jinx could blame her, she knew all about that feeling of helplessness that continued to follow you no matter how safe people try to make you feel. She'd been spending as much time with her as possible, hoping to reconnect with her. It seemed to work. They were getting along like old friends. Lulu even confided in Jinx about her growing feelings for Dominic Falcon, a member of Sonny's organization. Jinx was apprehensive about that but Lulu reassured her that he was a good guy.

Jinx was meeting Lulu at Crimson so the two could go to lunch. When she arrived the receptionist told her that Lulu had stepped out, but she could wait for her in her office since she knew Lulu wouldn't mind. Jinx went into the office and wondered around for a bit. She was so proud of Lulu and she knew Laura would be too. She was really making a success of herself. Jinx could only hope she could do the same for Mary Mae.

Lucky was on his way to see Lulu and make sure she was holding up alright since her ordeal. Not that was the only thing on his mind. On the same day his sister was kidnapped he found out his brother was in love with his fiancé, and all of this transpired within a few days of his long lost best friend coming back into his life. Lucky was dealing with more issues than an episode of Maury. It seemed like more and more people were betraying him, first Jinx, now Nikolas. Both times he never saw it coming. With everything that had been happening he had enough to worry about. Finding out about Nikolas was a perfect cherry on his crap week cake. Still, what really disturbed him wasn't knowing about Nik, it was his urge to find Jinx after finding out. After all these years, after all she put him through, his first instinct was to go to her for comfort, not Liz, and that thought frightened him.

Jinx sat in the chair in front of Lulu's desk looking at the picture of Laura which sat on it, a small smile appearing on her face. She missed Laura, a lot. Luke didn't know, but Jinx made it a habit to visit Laura every month at the hospital in Europe. Of course Laura never knew she was even there, or anyone for that matter, but it felt wrong not to visit.

"Lulu," A male voice called from outside.

Jinx recognized it as Lucky's. She was conflicted. A part of her wanted to run out and talk to him, the other wanted to hide in there until he left. Jinx quietly moved to the wall by the glass doors and pressed herself against it. She heard him talk on his phone leaving a message for Lulu she figured. A few seconds later she heard a female voice enter. Jinx didn't recognize this voice but he heard her ask about Lulu.

"Can you just leave it alone Sam," Lucky said still upset over what had transpired the other night. "Lulu has enough to deal with already without making it okay for you that Jason chose to save you instead of you."

Sam looked at Lucky stunned. "So you think Jason made the wrong choice."

Jinx could see this was going down a bad road and she knew first hand that Lucky could really hurt someone with his words when he was angry. Knowing Sam had been through her own traumatic experience Jinx decided to distract Lucky with his new favorite hobby, making her feel like crap. Taking a deep breath she stepped outside the office.

"Hi, you must be Sam, I'm Jinaya, but most people call me Jinxie." She introduced herself holding out her hand. Sam appeared startled at her entrance but regained composure and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. You'll have to forgive Lucky, he was born with his foot surgically implanted in his foot."

"I-," Lucky started.

"I'm sure it's just his concern for his sister that's completely distracting him from the fact that you had an equally horrible night and should be the last person in the world to be put on a guilt trip." Jinx continued.

"What are you doing here?" Lucky asked her obviously irritated.

Jinx completely ignored him.

"Lulu will be back in a few. We had plans to eat lunch. I wanted to check up on her." She told Sam.

"So did I," Sam said.

"Well, I think she'll be back in a couple of minutes if you want to wait, that's what I was doing," Jinx offered.

Sam nodded, "Sure, thank you." Jinx led Sam back into the office where she was originally waiting. The two chatted for a few minutes completely disregarding the glowering man outside the office. Jinx explained her relationship with Lulu and the rest of the Spencers in return Sam told Jinx a little about her own back-story.

"Lulu and I have been having lunch together the past few days, so if you wanted to talk to her I can always talk to her later. I'm sure she'd appreciate it. She could really use the support right now," Jinx informed Sam.

Lulu finally came walking into the office stopping short at the sight all them in her office.

"What's going on?" she asked. Both Jinx and Sam stood.

"Hey Lulu, I just wanted to stop and see how you were holding up." Sam said. Before Lulu could dismiss Sam's concern Jinx spoke up.

"And I was just here for our lunch date…and to make sure you were alright." Jinx admitted.

"Look guys, I appreciate the concern but I'm fine. I'm alive, Dante saved me. I'm okay." Lulu tired to assure them but Jinx could tell she was trying to be strong. She recognized the look.

"Lulu sweetie," Jinx said taking a step toward her. "You went through something horrible. It's normal to feel uneasy or scared after something like this happens."

"Could you stop?" Lucky finally spoke having moved next to Lulu

The three women finally focused their attention on him.

"Stop what Lucky?" Jinx asked in a bored tone.

"She's gone through a good chunk of her life without your advice I think she'll be fine without it."

"Stop it, Lucky," Lulu scolded but he ignored her.

"You don't have to come here and pretend you give a crap about any of us just because of what Lulu went through. You didn't care about anything any of us went through while you were gone, no need to start now. You can just go back to doing what you do best, taking care of yourself."

Both Lulu and Sam looked to Lucky shocked at his harsh words.

Instead of the familiar hurt and guilt Jinx expected she felt a fire rising inside her. It was like switch was flipped in her mind and she was reminded of who she was. She loved Lucky and she never wanted to hurt him, but enough was enough. Not taking her eyes from Lucky she spoke softly.

"Lulu, Sam, could you two excuse us for a minute?


	8. 1998

Warning this chapter deals with rape, nothing too graphic but it is seriously implied.

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1998

"God Lizzy do you think you could've gotten a tighter dress?" Jinx said through gritted teeth as Elizabeth helped Jinx zip up her dress as she stood in front of her mirror.

"Oh hush, and suck in." Elizabeth fussed. Elizabeth had insisted Jinx come over to her place so they can get ready for the dance together. Lucky was going to meet them at the dance. Elizabeth turned Jinx around to face her and smiled. "Who knew there was a hot girl buried under all that sarcasm?" She exclaimed mockingly.

"Shut up," Jinx laughed facing the mirror once again to see her reflection. She did look different. She had never gotten so dressed up before; she'd never had a reason to. Her hair was in a neat bob that framed her face perfectly. She wore diamond studs in her ear and a silver choker with a oval shaped light blue jewel. She wore a strapless royal blue dress with a shirred bodice that was trimmed with rhinestones, which sat above a flowing baby doll silhouette.

"Now if you avoid talking you might be able to find a guy tonight." Elizabeth joked only to receive a playful slap on her shoulder. "Ow," She laughed hitting Jinx back. "You look great Jinxie."

Jinx could only smile.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" she asked noticing her outfit.

"Yeah, I am. Just needed to make sure you were properly put together," she said in a fake British accent causing the two to laugh. The front doorbell rang and Elizabeth left to go answer it. Jinx was looking forward to this dance, though probably not as much as Elizabeth. Elizabeth hadn't said anything but Jinx knew she was hoping that tonight would lead to something between her and Lucky. Jinx felt bad for her. She knew Lucky didn't think of her like that but Elizabeth had convinced herself she could prove to him otherwise. Jinx had tried to talk sense into her but it'd only led to an argument and she didn't like fighting with her, so she just let it go.

Elizabeth had been gone for awhile so Jinx headed downstairs to check on her. She was halfway down the steps when she stopped short to see Lucky in the living room. Lucky looked up at the sound of footsteps and was taken back.

"Wow," was all he could manage as he took in Jinx's appearance. He had never seen Jinx like this. For all intensive purposes, Jinx was just a really feminine boy to him. She'd always just been his best friend, not his best friend the girl. It was easy to forget sometimes that she was in fact a very pretty young lady. However tonight he was bombarded with the evidence. He was pretty sure he'd never forget again. Jinx tried to fight the heat rushing to her face to no avail as Lucky stared at her. She felt awkward under his gaze. He'd never looked at her like this before. It was causing a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wasn't quite sure what to make of.

"Hey Lucky, what are you doing here?" Jinx finally asked trying to break the silence. It seemed to take him a couple of seconds for her question penetrate his mind

"Oh, yeah, I –I just wanted to drop by and make sure you guys were still meeting us?"

"Us?" she asked.

"Sarah," Liz finally spoke from her place on the sofa. "Lucky just came by to let us know that Sarah's gonna come with us." Jinx could tell Elizabeth was hurt by this turn of events.

"Okay, so I'll see you guys at the dance." Lucky said attempting a hasty exit.

"Sure, see you in a few." Jinx called after him. As soon as he was gone Jinx rushed to Elizabeth's side.

"You okay?" She asked. Elizabeth shook her head.

"I really thought tonight was the night. I just knew if we went to this dance together he'd start to really see me." She cried. Jinx wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm sorry Lizzy." Jinx hated to see her so heartbroken even if she knew it was coming.

"Look, you and I both know that Sarah is still gaga for Nik right?" Elizabeth nodded. "So Lucky will see that too, when she won't stop yapping about the guy he'll toss her right back to the prince." She said causing a small smile to form on Elizabeth's face.

"Now we started the night with the goal of getting some very sexy and eligible guys, well at least I did, you want Lucky for some reason," A full blown laugh escaped Liz's throat triggering Jinx's own laughter. "So are we still on?" Jinx asked. Elizabeth sat up and wiped at her eyes.

"We're on."

"Good, now get your but up those stairs and get ready we have an entrance to make." She said shooing her up the stairs.

The duo finally made it out of the house and was on the way to the dance. Liz convinced Jinx to take a shortcut through the park. They were halfway through when Jinx realized she'd forgotten her purse.

"Crap! All my money was in there." She groaned.

"We'll just go back," Elizabeth suggested but Jinx could tell by the look on her face she really didn't want to leave Sarah alone with Lucky any longer than she had.

"No it's ok, you go ahead"

"You sure?" Elizabeth asked uncertain.

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you." She assured her.

Elizabeth told her she'd see her at the dance before continuing on her way.

Jinx let out an annoyed moan before turning around. She double timed her pace. She really wanted to be there for Liz tonight. She was pretty sure this night would not go the way she'd want it to and Jinx needed to be sure she was there to pick up the pieces. That seemed to be her job description lately.

As she walked past a park bench one of her heels caught in a small hole on the pathway. She tried to yank her foot out but she only managed to remove her foot, not the shoe. As she bent down to pick it up a gloved hand covered her mouth and a large arm wrapped around her. Jinx tried to scream but her assailant's hand tightly over her mouth prevented her from making a sound. She tried to fight her way out of his grip but she was unable to move. She was being dragged backwards towards the bushes. Struggling even harder, Jinx tried to get her arms up so she could grab the arm holding her hostage and pull it off her but she couldn't reach. She was suddenly hurled to the cold snowy ground. As soon as the hand was removed she started screaming and attempted to crawl away. The hand instantly returned. Her assailant flipped her over so her back hit the grass. She looked into cold brown eyes looking at her through the holes of a ski mask. She fought against his massive weight on her body but couldn't push him off of her. He kept his hand on her moth as he tore at her dress. Jinx began hitting and scratching at him anything to get him off her. She was rewarded with a hard slap to her face. Her eyes began to blur with tears and her face stung but she kept fighting which resulted in harder slaps and a punch in her stomach. She felt his hand go under her dress. Jinx was sobbing at this point, terrified. She couldn't believe this was happening. She clenched her legs shut and pushed against the hand on her mouth. All she could think was she couldn't stop fighting. She couldn't let this monster win. When his hand slipped slightly on her mouth she opened her mouth and bit down as hard she could, her mouth filling with blood. Her assailant gave a shout and punched her hard in the face. Jinx's vision darkened, she felt her underwear being ripped from her and then she couldn't feel anything.

Lucky was walking through the park searching for Jinx, when Liz showed up at the diner alone and told him how Jinx had gone back for her purse he became uneasy with the knowledge she was out alone. Elizabeth tried to assure him she was fine and she said she'd be there soon but he still wasn't certain. After another 15 minutes of listening to Sarah ramble on and on about Nikolas, he got tired of waiting on her and decided to go looking. Elizabeth asked to join him but he convinced her to stay and have fun. The last thing he needed was her making goo goo eyes at him while he tried to find Jinx. He was almost through the park when he noticed something on the pathway. He approached the object curiously and realized it was a shoe. A bad feeling began to take root in his stomach. He picked up the high heel and examined it. Lucky tried to remember what Jinx had been wearing that night. He had been so focused on the dress and her face he never noticed the shoes. 'God please don't let it be hers.' He prayed. He began to search around seeing if there was anything else around that might give him a clue to where Jinx was. He suddenly noticed footprints in the ground, followed by what looked like drag marks. Lucky's heart began to pound. He tried to calm himself down. That could've been anybody's, some couple playing around, he told himself but it didn't comfort him. He followed the tracks into the bushes. He didn't see anyone. But in the patch of grass and snow was a scrap of white fabric. Lucky picked it up and felt nauseous. He was holding a pair of ripped panties.

"JINX!" He screamed. "Jinx are you here?"He began scrambling around the area searching behind every tree bench and bush.

When he didn't find her he ran to Liz's house. He pounded on the door and rang the bell multiple times.

"Lucky? What are you doing here?" Elizabeth's grandmother asked after answering the door.

"Has Jinx been back here?" He rushed out.

"What?" Audrey asked confused.

"Jinx, has she been back here since she and Elizabeth left?" He asked is eyes full of fear.

Audrey shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her." Lucky let out a desolate breath and ran from the house without a word and took off toward his home.

"Dad!" He shouted as soon as he got to his house. Luke came running almost immediately hearing the panic in his son's voice. "Lucky? What happened? Are you alright?" He asked immediately looking him over. Lucky frantically shook his head out of breath.

"Jinx," He managed to get out.

"Where is she?" Luke asked fearful. Lucky just shook his head.

"She never made it to the dance dad. I went looking for her at the park, that's where Elizabeth last saw her. All I found was this." He said handing the shoe to Luke. Luke grabbed the heel with a shaking hand. "I don't know if its hers, I don't, but I can't find her. No one's seen her."

Luke grip on the shoe tightened.

"Dad, at the park, I saw-," Lucky couldn't finish his sentence, his overwhelming fear keeping him from speaking the unthinkable.

"What?" Luke demanded. Lucky couldn't form the words. Luke grabbed him. "Tell me!"

"I found drag marks in the snow, where I found the shoe. " Lucky shook his head not wanting to say what else he'd found. He didn't want to think about what it implied. Luke began to shake him.

"What else? What else?"

" Underwear, dad, ripped ones." Lucky chocked out. Luke's arms dropped. He began to shake his head.

"No, no. It's not, it can't, not Jinxie. Not my Jinxie."

Lucky rushed past his dad and went to the phone. "I'm calling the police." Luke just stood there as Lucky dialed. He couldn't process what was happening. It wasn't possible. No one could've hurt Jinxie. She was young, barely a teenager, no one would've hurt her, how could anyone want to.

A knock at the door interrupted both males from their panic. Luke rushed to answer it praying it was Jinx, but was only placed in a larger state of panic when he saw Officer Taggart and another officer on his porch. "Mr. Spencer."

"Where is she?" he asked. Lucky had come up behind him.

"She's at General. Someone picked her up wondering the streets over thirty minutes ago and brought her straight there."

"Let's go," Luke told Lucky grabbing his coat.

"Sir maybe I should give you a ride. I don't think you should be driving in this state." Taggart offered.

"I don't-,"

"Dad please, let's just go." Lucky pleaded. Luke looked to his son, back to Taggart and nodded.

When they got to the hospital, they were kept from seeing her for what felt like hours. No one would tell them anything. Luke finally got fed up with it and slammed his fist on the desk. "My daughter is back there and no one is telling me a damn thing about her. Somebody get a doctor out here and tell me what's happened to her!"

"Sir please calm down," the nurse begged.

"Dad," he heard Lucky call but he didn't care. He had no idea if Jinxie was dead or dying and he had enough of playing the waiting game.

"I want to see her. Jinaya Ward. I want to see her now, what room is she in?" He demanded.

"I'm sorry sir I'm not at liberty to say."

"Don't give me that crap alright! You know where she is now tell me, I'm her legal guardian, you have no right to keep her from me."

"Sir if you'd just have a seat-" Luke grabbed the nurses charts off from in front of her causing her to scream, she immediately went for her phone and called for security. Meanwhile Luke had found the information he was looking for and headed off in search of Jinx with Lucky trailing close behind. When he came to her room he told Lucky to wait outside. Lucky began to protest.

"Just for a minute. Just let me see how she is, okay?" Lucky wanted to argue but knew this was not the time for it. He nodded and leaned against the wall by the door. Taking a deep breath Luke walked into the room.

The female doctor sitting with her immediately asked him to leave, telling him he couldn't be there but all he could see was Jinx, all bruised and small. Her right eye was swollen shut with a purplish and black bruise forming around it and her lip was busted and bleeding. Her arm was in a cast and he could see several of her toes were bandaged. Her throat had a red hand print shape left on it. He wanted to scream for all that had been done to her but he managed to keep it together, until Jinx looked up at him and gave a relieved smile through her tears. "Daddy."

Luke broke down.

* * *

Yeah I know it's a lot but what can I say I was in a zone.


	9. Chapter 9

After Sam and Lulu cleared the room, the two were left alone with nothing but the uncomfortable silence and tension to keep them company.

"If you have something to say-,"

"That's enough." Jinx spoke cutting him off for a change. Lucky seemed surprised both by her tone and boldness.

"Lucky I have endured your rage, your tirades and your straight up rudeness, and in doing so I believe that has entitled me to at least 3 minutes without interruption. So I am going to speak and you are going to be quiet and listen. Now you can either accept these terms or walk out the door but those are your only choices."

Lucky was quiet for few moments. She could see the inner battle within him. A part of him wanted to hear her out, to forgive her, but the other part, the hurt part wanted to lash out at her, make her hurt like he did.

She waited patiently for his decision. When he gave the slightest nod she let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Lucky, I am sorry for the pain I caused you," She stopped when she saw him roll his eyes. She gave him a look and he sighed and gave her a sign to continue.

"I know that you think that I abandoned you. And I don't blame, but don't you ever. Ever. For one second, say that I don't care about you."

Lucky looked at her skeptically.

Jinx looked at him with disbelievingly and let out her own scoff. "Wow, you really have no idea do you?"

"About what?" He asked forgetting their deal for a moment.

"You have no idea what it felt like to lose you." Lucky just stared at her. "Do you remember how close we were? How a day didn't go by where we did not spend almost every waking moment together?"

Lucky's gaze shifted to the ground elsewhere. He didn't want to think about it.

"After that night, the night of the dance, I –I couldn't have fathomed getting past it without you. It would've been so easy to just give in to the fear, the despair, but you wouldn't let me. And I didn't want to disappoint you. Not only that but I… I wanted to be better for you. I wanted to make you happy, because you were the most important person in my life." She told him honestly.

"And when that fire happened-" Her voice cracked as she relived the horror of that night. Lucky looked to her transfixed by her emotion for him. "When you died…I broke. I broke Lucky. And I felt like I would never get myself back together again. Living my life, looking towards the future, none of that mattered. None of it was worth anything to me anymore without you. I wanted to die. I pretty much did." She said. Lucky forced back the lump in his throat at her admission trying to keep the wall he'd built up to keep her out intact.

"If I thought for one minute that I could stay and not cause myself or Luke anymore damage I would have. But I honestly felt that the only thing I could do here, back then, is hurt and suffer. I did not want Luke to see me like that. He would not have been able to help me and he shouldn't have had to. He had his own feelings to deal with. The last thing he needed was to feel helpless because he couldn't fix me."

Lucky let his eyes fall to his shoes. If he were honest with himself he'd know had the situation been reversed he most likely would have felt the same way. He had needed Jinx as much she needed him. When he was "dead" and being held captive he had missed his family terribly, but he had ached for Jinx. Being without her was worse than any withdrawal. Truth be told, no matter how angry he was at her at the moment, that hole that had been in his heart from her absence had been filling ever since he saw her.

"I left so I could somehow put myself back together, not just for me or Luke, but for you. I knew you would be disappointed in me. But I also knew as long as I was in Port Charles I couldn't move on."

"But why did you stay away so long? If I mean so much to you, why didn't you come back?" Lucky finally asked, the part of him wanting to forgive her eager for an answer.

Jinx let out a small sigh.

"Before I tell you I need to ask you something."

Lucky let out a short humorless chuckle. "I mean it Lucky." She said her face serious. Lucky rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Okay, do you remember when I was 14 and those guys were picking on me?" Lucky nodded. "Yeah, one of them took the necklace Mae Mae gave you. " Even after all these years it still got him heated thinking about it.

"You asked me what was wrong, and I tried to lie. I didn't want you to do anything stupid. You saw right through me. Remember what you told me?"

Lucky couldn't stop the faint smile that crossed his lips. "I told you that you'd never get away with lying to me and you shouldn't try. I said that I'd always have your back and that you should trust that I'll always take your side."

Jinx smiled brightly happy that he remembered. "And did I ever lie to you again, even when it was embarrassing for me to tell you the truth?"

Lucky shook his head. "No, even though sometimes I wish you had. There were some things I rather had not known," He said jokingly and for one second they were best friends again, but Lucky's smile quickly faded and turned his head from her smiling face.

The action caused a pain in Jinx heart but she pressed on. "So I need to believe me when I tell you, I had no idea you were alive."

Lucky scoffed and turned away. Jinx grabbed his arm to stop him. "I swear to you Lucky," She forced him to look at her. "I never knew. You have to believe me. If our friendship ever meant anything to you, I need you to believe me." Lucky began shaking his head.

"So what, all your checking in on us and you never came across the fact that I was, you know, not dead."

Jinx looked desperate, like she wanted to tell him something but couldn't. "All I can say is my sources turned out to be very unreliable. But Lucky I don't expect you to just forgive me or for us to go back to how we were, but I just need you to know that had I'd known, nothing would have stopped me from coming back to you."

Lucky tried not to let those big brown eyes sway him but he could feel his resolve crumbling.

"Look, I know you need time, and I am more than willing to grant you all the time you need. I don't mind, I want you to, if only to know that there's a chance you could forgive me. But right now there's something I really need to do and I hope you'll let me." She said.

Before Lucky could ask her what she meant she had thrown her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. Lucky was stunned. Having Jinx in his arms again was almost indescribable. No amount of bitterness or anger could reduce the emotion he was feeling in her embrace. Unable to resist he wrapped his arms around her. As he breathed in her scent he couldn't help remembering the last time he'd held her in his arms.

1999

"You okay?" Lucky asked Jinx who was sitting on the bed. She had been very quiet all day. He wondered if she missed living with his dad. He told her she could move back whenever she wanted and he wouldn't hold it against her. Of course he'd miss her like crazy everyday she wasn't there, but he didn't want to be responsible for her any unhappiness she felt, not after everything she went through. Even though he'd gotten over most of his anger at what his father had done to his mother so many years ago he still wasn't ready to move back, but he wouldn't stop Jinx form doing so if it was what she wanted. She'd forgiven him a lot sooner than he had. Jinx looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"I was out with Lizzy a few months back, right after..." She trailed off but Lucky didn't need her to clarify because he knew what event she was referring to. It had plagued both of them for months. He sat next to her and took her hand in his squeezing it gently. We were walking and we passed the park. I froze. I could barely breathe. I don't know how long I stood there. Lizzy tried to get me to go home but I was so scared. It was like at any moment it was going to happen all over again." Lucky lightly stroked her hand with his thumb trying to his best to make things better. Jinx couldn't help but feel warm at the gesture.

"Today while you were in the shop I went there." His eyes shot up.

"Alone? Jinx are you crazy?"

"It was daytime and there were plenty of people. " She assured him.

"I needed to go Lucky. I couldn't go through the rest of my life with the fear of someone grabbing me whenever I'm not with you. I figured if I could go to that place I could go anywhere." Lucky still lose the feeling of dread at the thought that something could have happened to her. Sensing his distress Jinx laid her small hand on his cheek. "I'm fine. I promise." Lucky placed his hand on top of hers. The smile she gave him caused his heart to skip a b at.

"You have no idea how important you are to me." He told her.

"Of course I do, almost as much as you are to me." Lucky took her in his arms and held onto her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

"I'll always be here for you. You know that right?" He whispered into her hair. She nodded and burrowed herself into his chest.

Neither of them knew what had happened. The entire atmosphere had shifted. Something was stirring in the air and it was affecting the two teens in way it never had before. Before he could formulate an explanation to this change in his head he was placing his hand under her chin and lifting her eyes to meet his. Almost as if he were in a trance he pressed his lips to hers. It was barely a brush of the lips, and ended as quickly as it had started, but it invoked a rush of feelings through the two of them they had never felt before. Jinx pulled away first, exhilarated and frightened at the same time.

"Lucky what-" He didn't want to let her finish. He didn't want the moment to be broken. So he did the only thing he could think of and kissed her again. This time it was much more than a gentle meeting of the lips. He allowed his mouth to linger and grew so bold as to move his lips against her causing her to do the same. Neither of them were thinking past the moment. After everything they just wanted to be in the one place they both felt truly safe and happy, with each other. The ringing of a phone caused them to jump. Both of them were panting and their hearts were pounding. Lucky face was flushed and Jinx couldn't look him in the eye.

"I should get that," he said in a shaky voice. Still not looking at him, Jinx nodded. Lucky answered the phone and was more than slightly annoyed to find it was Elizabeth on the other end. After Lucky spent three minutes trying to politely tell Elizabeth that he was busy he finally was able to get her off the phone. He knew he had to talk to Jinx about what happened between them now or she'd brush it off as a fluke and he knew in his heart he didn't want that. But when he got back to the bedroom she was gone. He looked around downstairs in the bike shop but she wasn't there either. Completely deflated he went back to his room to wait for her, promising himself when she returned he would demand they talk about their feelings.

Present

Unfortunately Helena had other plans that night and he didn't see Jinx again for 9 years. He hated Helena so much for every horrible thing she did to his family, but taking him away from Jinx? Words couldn't describe the rage he'd felt for that woman every day he sat in that prison away from her. '_This is what I've been missing.' _Lucky thought to himself as he held onto his former best friend.

Jinx reveled in the feeling of being in her Lucky's arms once more. She knew she probably wouldn't get this chance again anytime soon so she milked it as long as she could. When she finally found the will power to release him she pulled away from him slowly checking his face for his reaction. She was happy to see there was no anger. In fact she was more than sure his expression mirrored hers. "Thank you," she said with a smile. All Lucky could do was nod.

Jinx turned to go find Lulu so they could continue with their lunch plans. "Jinx." Lucky called hesitantly.

"Yes," She answered turning back.

He seemed to struggle with what to say. Finally he just sighed and said, "It was nice seeing you."

It was the most impersonal mundane thing he could have possibly said. But it filled Jinx with delight. "You too." She replied before giving him one of her "kill me dead" smiles and disappearing in search of his sister. Lucky didn't know it then but his life was about to become 1000 times more complicated.

* * *

Hey guys I know its been awhile so I tried to make this chapter kind of lengthy.


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